Warmth
by Fallen Ark Angel
Summary: Laxus finds his week away with the demon far better than he could have ever imagined. - One-shot.


Laxus sat on the end of the bed, silent and thinking as always. As he watched the slowly dying flames in the fireplace across from him, he only sighed, not wishing in that moment to move.

It would get cold soon, if he didn't do something. If he didn't keep the embers kindled. It was snowing lightly outside, in that moment, but a bigger storm was coming. A real storm was coming. He could feel it in his gut. He'd planned for it.

And yet…

He'd been woken up by the hooting of an owl, somewhere off in the distance. Part of him, as he sat up and slipped his feet to rest on the cool wooden floor, but didn't truly rise to get up, wondered just what had bothered the owl. And what had bothered what bothered the owl. And what bothered what had bothered what had bothered…

Eventually, he got so tangled in these thoughts that he forgot, momentarily, why he was there. It was rare for Laxus to pick such a place for a vacation. He far preferred sandy beaches with tight bikini's and fresh breezes. Little known places where the town's people didn't whisper as he walked by for any reason other than he was an outsider. Lonely islands with not so rich histories, but fresh experiences.

A secluded cabin in the woods in the dead of winter was not something :Laxus Dreyar craved.

It was, however, the deepest desire of the woman curled up in bed beside him who, with each soft breath, blew up the bangs that hung over her face, only for them to fall down once more and repeat the cycle.

She was so beautiful.

Laxus made a face at his own though as he turned his attention away from her once more and back onto the fire.

Mirajane didn't like vacations. She didn't like to be away from the bar. Even on the rare days she had off, she liked to hang around and bother whoever was filling in for her (poor Kinana) . The guild was her life and she couldn't imagine it without her in it.

So it had taken a lot of convincing on the part of the slayer and her siblings to get her away from it for a week. Laxus really wanted her, just for himself, for one week. That's all he was asking for. That year. If they made it to another, he would want another year, of course, but for the moment, all he wanted was one.

Was that too much to ask?

Yes, when he wanted to go to a beach. Or tiny town. Mira didn't want an island either.

No, she wanted him to take her to a cabin, in the middle of winter, to be alone.

Sigh.

He wondered if she only wanted it because she figured he wouldn't. He almost didn't, honestly, as cold wasn't one of his strong points and hiking through it to get to a dinky little cabin certainly wasn't his idea of fun. A job, maybe, but fun, definitely not.

Still, if he wanted to get at his demon, then, apparently, he had to get over all that. And believe the man when he said that he wanted the demon.

Oh, man, he wanted the demon.

So he had his faithful followers to procure him a place, fill it with whatever he would need, and then scram. He put emphasis on that last one. If he didn't, they wouldn't.

Then he got Mira's dorky sister to agree to give Kinana a hand during the week and Elfman to agree to make Lisanna actually hold up her end of the deal, who would only do it if Ever agreed to go on a real date with him, who wouldn't agree to this unless Laxus got Bickslow to stop making fun of her for it, who wouldn't do this until Freed agreed to allow him to sleep on his couch again. Somehow, the last one was the most difficult as, though Freed was extremely committed to making Laxus' week dream come true, he did not want Bickslow bumming with him again. The man was a terrible housemate.

The things Laxus did for his demon.

Because if it wasn't for her, he definitely wouldn't be dealing with all of their knucklehead antics.

Getting to listen to her gush on and on though, on their way to the cabin, about how excited she was to be alone with him, to be together, to just be, for a week, with no real responsibilities, mad eit all worth it though. It almost made him smile.

Until she said something she shouldn't have.

Snowmen.

Oh, he loathed snowmen.

Which he had to explain to her then, in detail, while Mira with a rapt interest he didn't get from others. The Thunder Legion, maybe, but it was different. It just felt different. Everything felt different with Mirajane. He'd never been this happy before. Never.

Well, once. When he was young. Before snowmen were the enemy.

Mira, though she did suggest he get professional help with this little idiosyncrasy of his, did agree not to build a snowman the entire time.

Snow angels though, she deemed, were completely acceptable.

He was still too worked up thinking about snowmen to care.

Snowmen.

Fuck 'em.

The pretentious bastards.

She was so precious to him though, Laxus knew, somewhat, before awoke in the cabin to find the fire dying out, but it was only as he sat on the edge of that bed and stared over his shoulder at her, trying hard not to only watch her and failing, that he truly came to realize this.

He'd be lsot wtihout her now.

She deserved so much more than their stupid guild. A lot of those idiots there, they got exactly what they deserved at Fairy Tail. They were content. And, at a time, Mira had been too. But she'd far outgrown it. He could tell. She cared for it, in its entity, as one would a child. She cared for it more than he did, he feared, some days. More than the old man, maybe, even.

Maybe Gramps would see it. What he did. Before he died.

If anyone could care for that place then, it would be her.

Laxus found himself wanting that for her more than he did himself.

She...Mirajane…she just…

She was waking is what she was doing then, shivering some as, when he arose, he'd knocked the fluffy blankets away from her. Peeking an eye open, she looked around, momentarily confused, and then her blue, bleary irises met his and Laxus allowed himself to turn once more and lean down.

As he nuzzled against her, Mira pulled back some, but he only buried his head in her neck and whispered softly, "I love you."

And it caught her off guard, it seemed, as Mira pulled back some, blinking heavily as she tried hard, he figured, to wake up. But how could she? When she was already?

"I love you too."

And she whispered it in a hushed kind of way though it was only the two of them there in the tiny cabin.

Nodding his head, Laxus stood finally, before moving to tug the blankets back upa round his girlfriend. They got another kiss in then and her down bangs tickled his face in a way that he liked. He didn't smile though, not then. Only, on his feet now, turned to head over to the fire and poke at it until it seemed to reignite.

When he turned back to her, Mirajane was curled up on her side and sleeping again, facing away from him this time, but the slayer only grinned now that no one could see as he came to slip back between the blankets with her and tug the woman real close. You know, to keep warm and all.

Oh, and he because he loved her.

As Laxus wrapped his arms around her and Mirajane easily gave in, she replayed the sound of him saying that in her head, as she had a feeling it would be a good while before he uttered them again.

He only stared passed her then though, angling his head so he could see out the window above the bed, silent and thinking. As the woman drifted off, content in his arms, the slayer only sighed in it himself, never wishing to move.

* * *

 **The snowmen hatred is referenced a lot in any winter stuff Laxus is involved him, really, but it gets fully developed in my one-shot Cabin Fever, which this replicated the feeling of in some ways.**


End file.
